Superstition

Passive Skill · Barbarian

From level 30

Effect

Reduce all non-Physical damage by 20%. When you take damage from a ranged or elemental attack, you have a chance to gain 2 Fury.

Superstition

Superstition is a defensive passive aimed squarely at non-physical damage. It reduces all non-physical damage you take and can even hand you a little fury back when you are hit by ranged or elemental attacks. In doing so it closes a gap that pure armor-based defense leaves wide open.

The slot is especially valuable at higher difficulties, where elemental enemy affixes and ranged fire become the biggest threat. The extra fury generation is a nice side effect that improves resource flow in fury-heavy builds. In setups already built around all resistance and damage reduction, Superstition rounds out the defensive foundation without sacrificing a damage slot – a classic defensive passive for risky pushes.

What exactly is covered

The passive reduces all non-Physical damage by 20%. That includes every elemental damage type – Fire, Cold, Lightning, Poison, Arcane and Holy. Physical damage, such as the plain melee blows of many enemies, is not affected. In return, the protection comes with no condition: it is always on, with no cooldown and no threshold.

Superstition unlocks at level 30.

Putting the Fury part in perspective

When a ranged or elemental attack hits you, you have a chance to gain 2 Fury. The description gives no fixed probability, and the amount is small. So don't build your Fury budget around it – it is an extra that brings in a little resource on the side in fights against many ranged or elemental enemies.

When Superstition is the better defensive passive

The Barbarian has several defensive passives with different conditions. Relentless, for instance, only works at low Life, but then protects against every damage type. Superstition is the counterpart: always active, but limited to non-Physical damage. The choice depends on what actually threatens you.

If your runs mostly end to elemental damage, Superstition is the targeted answer.
If the dangerous hits are mainly physical melee blows, the passive gives you much less.
For setups that spend a lot of time at range from ranged attackers, the Fury chance complements the protection.

by eRnstl